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Kazakhstan’s Youth Suicide Crisis: Unraveling the Complex Web of Societal Challenges

A wave of suicides among teenagers and young adults has swept across Kazakhstan. Parents and the Children's Ombudsman have said children were provoked to do dangerous things by the internet, and deputies have demanded that social networks should be blocked. The media, meanwhile, has been accused of creating a “Werther effect,” fixating on the rash of suicides and thus encouraging teenagers to repeat these acts of self-harm. However, experts believe the cause is much more nuanced and cannot be eliminated by blocking harmful content alone. Chronicle of a Fateful September On September 13, a teenager fell from an eighth-story window in Astana. The boy died of his injuries. The very next day, a schoolgirl plummeted from a fifth-floor window in Shchuchinsk. The 12-year-old girl is in hospital, and the causes of both incidents are still under investigation. On September 16 in Almaty, two seventh-grade students from school No. 25 named after the writer I.Esenberlin, left class and climbed to the attic of a neighbor's apartment complex. The girls both fell to their death from the roof. “I came, and I saw two girls lying there. They had jumped from the roof," an eyewitness stated. "The girls were about 13 years old; seventh graders. One had a backpack next to her, and the other had no shoes and was wearing black tights. She had taken her shoes off and placed them neatly. One fell on a car, and her body rolled away. The second was immediately killed on the asphalt.” Later, it became known that one of the girls was the daughter of a famous Almaty ecologist and artist. Deputy Interior Minister Igor Lepekha said that what happened "is a suicide; the case was opened based on it being suicide." On September 21, another schoolgirl fell from a high-rise in Almaty. Allegedly, the girl left the house to perform a routine task, but climbed to the 13th floor, from where she plunged. The Almaty Police Department confirmed the girl's death and has opened a criminal case. By this time, in schools, online, and on social networks, parents had started to spread panicked rumors about the impact on children of a particular computer game, similar to the semi-mythical game “Blue Whale.” In the past, Blue Whale has been decried as a malicious game which encourages teenagers to commit suicide and acts of violence, but no convincing evidence has ever been presented. The Almaty police stated that gossip regarding the involvement of dangerous internet games in the girls' deaths is not valid and reminded the public about their responsibility vis-à-vis spreading false information. On September 22, in the yard of a multi-story residential building in Almaty, the body of a 3rd-year cadet from the Border Academy of the National Security Committee (NSC) who was on regular leave was found. “The cause of death was a fall from a height,” the NSC press service reported. On September 23, also in Almaty, multiple sources reported that a young man had tumbled from a high-rise building. Police...

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Social Researcher: Serious Effort Required for Women’s Representation in Kazakh Politics

According to Gulmira Ileuova, a sociologist and the head of the Strategy Centre for Social and Political Research, gender equality in Kazakhstan has severely deteriorated. In an interview with TCA, she explains how social regression and a depletion of human resources are making it difficult for women to participate in political parties, social movements, and public services. TCA: Sources illustrate that after the 2023 parliamentary elections, the representation of women deputies in the Mazhilis fell from 27% to 18%. In addition, Kazakhstan's performance in the Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI) has deteriorated. This year, the country fell from 62nd to 76th place. This index, which can be used to judge the economy's stability and legal security, has a serious impact on investors. What, in your opinion, is the reason for this deterioration? First of all, I would like to point out that until 2021, the Labor Code had restrictions on where women could work based on concerns about their health. Now that the restrictions have been lifted, progress is steadily being made in involving women in areas previously inaccessible to them. Some companies have already published data that women have begun operating heavy machinery, such as big trucks, which was not the case before. As for politics and the civil service, it appears that under the spread of influence from the south, the country is reinstating traditional social relations. Independent Kazakhstan has entered a new period where traditional and non-traditional forms of Islam thrive, and hyper-masculine and patriarchal attitudes are on the rise. I emphasize the patriarchal division of life through reinforced gender roles because it is gaining strength and spreading across all regions of the country. Furthermore, this trend is moving into the sphere of politics and civil services. Let's take a look at what preceded these trends. In many regions, primarily in the south, there is a huge number of women who wishing to undertake the important work of reproduction, were receiving TSA (targeted social assistance). According to statistics in 2019, there were 2 million and 221 thousand recipients of TSA (about 12% of the population). Today, their number has decreased six fold to about 350 thousand. These numbers include women who thought they would bypass employment through state support systems. And now these women are in trouble. The state is revising its social policy, but the paternalistic trend has long been developing and a large number of people have abused it. TCA: Are you saying that women, in receipt of child allowances, prefer to stay at home as opposed to actively entering economic relations or aspiring to participate in civil services or politics? Yes, and I am afraid that this trend cannot be overcome by quick measures or be alleviated by even quotas for women. In a 'strategy' study conducted by the Center for Social and Political Research in the Turkestan region, an official working in gender policy said that at some point, the political representation of women fell to 5%. There were actually no women in senior...

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Tokayev Pardons Chinese Scholar Konstantin Syroezhkin

The Kazakh political analyst Andrei Chebotaryov has announced on his Telegram channel that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has pardoned a scholar of Chinese studies, Konstantin Syroezhkin, who was convicted of treason in 2019. “On the proposal of the Commission on pardon issues under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the head of state Kassym-Jomart Tokayev pardoned the doctor of political sciences and professor Konstantin Syroezhkin by an appropriate decree. In this regard, his criminal record was removed, and his rights were restored. In general, justice has triumphed! I wish our colleague and mentor good health and new scientific achievements!”, Chebotaryov shared. Syroezhkin was arrested in February 2019 in a criminal case of high treason. The case caused widespread outrage, especially in scientific circles. At the same time, little is known about it. The trial was closed, and the circumstances of the case were not disclosed. In October 2019, Konstantin Syroezhkin was found guilty of high treason and sentenced to 10 years in prison by the specialized inter-district criminal court of Almaty. In April 2024, the appellate panel granted Syroezhkin's appeal and released him on parole with probation supervision for the remaining term of four years, five months, and 22 days. The board concluded that Syroezhkin's exemplary behavior, conscientious attitude to work, and participation in prison life proved he did not need to serve the entire sentence. Syroezhkin has been engaged in Oriental studies for many years and has had a long academic career in Kazakhstan. Earlier, he worked at the Institute of Uyghur Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR and at Kazakhstan's Center of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences. During the investigation that ended his career, Syroezhkin was chief scientific officer of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies, from 2006 to 2019. Among his significant works are such studies as “Modern Xinjiang and its Place in Kazakhstan-China Relations,” “Kazakhstan-China: From cross-border Cooperation to Strategic Partnership,” and “Should Kazakhstan be Afraid of China: Myths and Phobias.” He has also researched the life of Kazakhs in China, which became his work “Kazakhs in China: Sketches of Socio-Economic and Cultural Development.” It is worth noting that other well-known scientists have also been convicted in Kazakhstan. For example, in 2011, the leader of the country's Sufi community and a Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Sayat Ibrayev, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of “organizing a criminal group.” The same year, he was nominated in absentia for the Alikhan Bukeikhanov Award of the Union of Journalists of Kazakhstan.

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Galloping Traditions: Kokpar and Kok Boru Unleash Cultural Pride at the World Nomad Games

The Kazanat Hippodrome, with a track length of 1,800 meters, and the Astana Grand Mosque — the biggest mosque in Central Asia — dominating the background, hosted the preliminary kokpar and kok boru games, known for their respective pursuits of a headless goat carcass, on day two of the World Nomad Games. [caption id="attachment_22919" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] Image: TCA, K. Krombie[/caption] The layout of the Hippodrome track presents a great divide. The distance between the field and the spectators means that distinguishing the traditional headless goat carcass from the PC dummy version (serke) of the Games is an eye-squinting challenge if one doesn't engage with the obligatory big screen. The two games, which appear to be very similar if not identical, are separated by cultural nomadic origins. Kokpar is Kazakh, while kok boru is from Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyz origins of kok boru (gray wolf) are rooted in an ancient post-wolf hunting tradition, where the carcass of the animal would be passed around — as in taken — among the hunters as a sporting activity while riding back to their village. [video width="848" height="478" mp4="https://timesca.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/WhatsApp-Video-2024-09-09-at-22.33.14.mp4"][/video] To the unacquainted spectator, kok boru (and kokpar) is where various other sports — equestrianism, polo, hockey, and football — merge in a rugged horseback chase and scrum. The aim of the game is to steer the goat carcass into the donut-shaped tai kazan — or goal — of the opposing team. Each team has twelve horses and players, while four players from each team play for three 20-minute spurts with 10-minute breaks in between. In those 20-minute periods, not a single minute is wasted. [caption id="attachment_22921" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] Image: TCA, K. Krombie[/caption] In the kok boru games, following Turkey’s 1 - 0 win with Hungary, the mostly home crowd reserved their audible enthusiasm for Kazakhstan versus the United States in a literal East versus West match (U.S. team player and MMA fighter Nick Willert is also a competitor in horseback wrestling at the neighboring Ethnoaul). Much fanfare accompanied a parade of marching, flag-waving Kazakhs ahead of the game. From the off, the Kazakhs wiped the sandy floor with the American Cowboys. Almost every member of the Kazakh team scored points in quick succession, following taut human/horse throngs in the final stages of maneuvering the serke into the tai kazan. A general impression of the U.S. team was that they accepted their defeat with grace and humor, and were happy to be where they were. The same sentiment appeared to be shared by the Kazakh spectators, who are proud that these Central Asian games are gaining recognition on the international stage. [caption id="attachment_22922" align="aligncenter" width="739"] Image: TCA, K. Krombie[/caption] In the 2024 WNG, representation from the West is a growing trend for both the participants and the observers. American spectator Lisa Wagner, who was present at the kok boru games with friends and family specifically to support her fellow countrymen remarked that the Kyrgyzstan spectators in her midst were just as enthusiastic for the American team. Wagner...

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Nursultan Nazarbayev Poses for the Cameras – in Uzbekistan

Nursultan Nazarbayev, the former longtime president of Kazakhstan whose legacy was tarnished by accusations of autocracy and corruption, has made a rare public appearance, visiting several sites in the historic Uzbek city of Bukhara. Uzbekistan24 television showed Nazarbayev with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev as the pair walked, prayed and posed for cameras together on Friday. Local media reports said they discussed the preservation of cultural heritage and the education of young people. Mirziyoyev returned to Tashkent on Saturday and was in Astana, Kazakhstan on Sunday to attend the opening of the World Nomad Games, an international event celebrating traditional sports in Central Asia. Nazarbayev’s appearance resembled more of a stroll with an old friend than a formal event. But it was unusual to see the 84-year-old former leader out and about because he has tended to keep a low profile in recent years. The government of his successor, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has distanced itself from parts of Nazarbayev’s legacy, promising to be more responsive to people’s concerns and launching corruption investigations of some of the former leader’s relatives in order to recover state assets. Nazarbayev had ruled Kazakhstan since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, burnishing his reputation with the help of the young country’s massive oil wealth and skilled outreach to foreign investors and governments. However, as inequality and economic pressures grew, he resigned in 2019 while retaining some powerful roles in government. He was stripped of those posts as Tokayev grappled with fallout from protests and riots in January 2022 in which Nazarbayev was condemned as an authoritarian holdover. More than 200 people were killed in the violence, which ended after troops from Russia and other regional countries intervened.

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The Onset of “Friend-Shoring” in Central Asia

As Central Asia’s significance for global supply chains grows, the world’s major economic powers are seeking closer economic ties with the region’s countries. China, Russia, and the West all curry favor through investments and initiatives to bolster the region’s exports and secure their supply chains. Bordering China and Russia, Central Asia spans a land surface area corresponding to 87% the size of the entire European Union (EU). The region has a combined market of 76 million people and gross domestic product of 450 billion U.S. dollars. It is critical to global energy supply chains as it possesses 20% of the world's uranium reserves, as well as 17.2% of total oil and 7% of natural gas deposits. Kazakhstan produces over half of the EU’s critical raw materials, i.e. substances used in technology which are subject to supply risks and are hard to replace with substitutes. In the first seven months of 2024, rail cargo across the Middle Corridor, a trans-Caspian trade route linking China to Europe, has increased 14-fold compared to the same period last year. As the region opens up and undergoes significant economic transformation, supply chains are increasingly directed there, sparking competition for control over its vast natural resources and production capabilities. Major economic powers are stepping in to strengthen bilateral ties to ensure reliable trade partnerships. These strategies, known as “friend-shoring,” aim to reduce geopolitical risks, enhance supply chain stability, and transform Central Asian countries into trusted allies by fostering strong bilateral relationships and deeper economic ties. China and Russia remain at the helm of regional activity China has been actively engaging with Central Asian countries through strengthening economic ties and building strategic partnerships. Through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which aims to enhance infrastructure and trade connectivity across the region, China has helped strengthen the region’s rail network. China supplies equipment and invests in Uzbekistan’s electric vehicles, scooters, and leather production. Uzbekistan, in partnership with PowerChina and Saudi company ACWA Power, is also constructing the country’s first green hydrogen plant. Kyrgyzstan’s bilateral trade with China was up 30% in 2023 compared to 2022. This year, Turkmenistan has surpassed Russia in gas exports to China. In 2023, Kazakhstan's agricultural exports to China doubled to $1 billion compared to 2022, making China the largest importer of agricultural products from the country. Historically, Russia has been a major trading partner for Central Asian countries due to the Soviet legacy of a command economy, which established strong economic interdependencies that persisted in post-USSR period. While the region is aggressively diversifying its trade relationships, Russia is increasing gas supplies and energy infrastructure investments, specifically in renewables and nuclear facilities. Kazakhstan delivers most of its oil to Europe through Russia. Russian-led organizations, including the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), promote cooperation and economic integration with free movement of goods, services, and capital among member states. Russia's war against Ukraine has disrupted supply chains, but it has also opened up new trade opportunities, especially for Kazakhstan, as...